Preparation and Characterization of 17O-Enriched Alumina for Nuclear Fusion Damage Experiments

Alumina enriched in ¹⁷O was successfully fabricated from aluminum isopropoxide and water containing the ¹⁷O isotope. This material was necessary for an experiment to study the radiation damage expected in alumina exposed to a nuclear fusion reactor environment. The enrichment levels of specimens subjected to different preparation schedules were measured using a nuclear reaction analysis technique. Replacement of the ¹⁷O isotope in the ceramic by atmospheric oxygen occurred readily. Therefore, successful fabrication of suitably enriched alumina specimens required that all processing steps be performed under vacuum or inertgas environments. The optimum fabrication procedure produced enriched alumina specimens of >99.5% of theoretical density, ∽10-μm grain size, and a flexural strength of 280 MPa.     

Surface Preparation of Tantalum for Encapsulation and Adhesive Bonding

A number of methods of surface preparation of tantalum for encapsulation in silicone rubber and for structural adhesive bonding were explored. The only ones which could be generally useful were boiling for 24 hours in distilled water (28% improvement) or boiling for 4 hours in 20% sodium hydroxide solution followed by boiling for 2 hours in dilute hydrochloric acid (34% improvement). An alternative, which could sometimes be used, was heating in air for at least 2 hours at 100°C.     

Effects of experimental endogenous hyperlipemia on circulating leukocytes and erythrocytes

Effects of hyperlipemia on circulating leukocytes and erythrocytes were studied in dogs which were given repeated, intravenous injections of a nonionic detergent, Triton WR-1339. Erythrocyte lipid concentrations increased from 3.6±0.9 mg/10¹⁰ cells in control animals to 9.3±1.5 mg in the hyperlipemic group. This increase was accompanied by a shift in the distribution of total fatty acids toward a higher percentage of saturated and monounsaturated acids. In contrast to the changes observed in erythrocytes, the leukocyte lipid content remained unaltered in dogs with serum cholesterol levels ranging from 500 to more than 2,000 mg/100 ml. Leukocyte counts rose whereas hematocrit values, hemoglobin concentrations, and erythrocyte counts decreased. Oxygen utilization studies showed no significant metabolic differences between leukocytes which were isolated from hyperlipemic or control animals. Circulating leukocytes in dogs with an endogenously induced hyperlipemia were shown therefore to maintain normal lipid concentrations and did not participate in lipophage formation, as reported for certain diet-induced lipemias.     

Water uptake and tensile properties of carboxylated styrene butadiene rubber based water born paints: Models for water uptake prediction

Despite significant advances in water based surface coating technology, the presence of surfactants in emulsion polymer binders leads to loss of performance after prolonged immersion in water, relative to solvent based coatings that are free of surfactant impurities. This study begins with water uptake evaluation of a range of emulsion polymer binders. A carboxylated styrene butadiene rubber latex (c-SBR) performed best in the latter evaluations and was selected for the formulation of an exterior grade paint and construction of a mathematical model to predict water uptake of the dry film. The c-SBR was then compounded with a range of inorganic fillers and water uptake and tensile properties were evaluated. Talc was found to be the best performing filler, and was used in a three factorial central composite design study where the simultaneous effects of talc, titanium dioxide and phenolic stabiliser on water up take were evaluated and fitted to response equations. A quadratic model was found to provide the most accurate prediction of effects associated with interactions between talc and TiO₂. Certain combinations of talc and titanium dioxide were found to be synergistic in reducing the water uptake. This was considered to be associated with a packing effect stemming from the vast difference in particle size between talc and titanium dioxide particles. An optimised formulation was finally prepared to meet one of the final formulation objectives; i.e., minimised water uptake. Preparation of such a formulation showed that the predicted and measured water uptake responses were in excellent agreement. This study illustrates the effectiveness of statistical experimental design methods in predicting the water uptake characteristics of water-based coatings.     

Measuring Software Screen Complexity: Relating Eye Tracking,Emotional Valence,and Subjective Ratings

Enterprise software pages, routinely used to conduct a variety of business-relevant tasks, must be clear and nonconfusing to experienced end users. A study was conducted to consider the impact of several page design factors (background gradient, font, and font size) on perceived ratings of page clarity, completion time, emotional valence (EV) from video, and several eye-tracking parameters. Twenty professional managers each completed 25 tasks on enterprise web pages designed with specific combinations of these factors. Highly rated pages had Tahoma and Larger fonts, compared to Calibri and Smaller fonts. The Gradient background did not influence ratings but did increase the search area and completion time. Although EV was not a sensitive measure across tasks, it was influenced by font differences in the first few seconds of page presentation. Overall, the use of background gradient was not supported, but both Tahoma and Larger fonts were supported for these enterprise pages.     

Note: The Use of Triallyl Cyanurate in Bonding PVC Plastisols to Steel

The use of diallyl phthalate as the basis for a non-extractable plasticizer for poly(vinylchloride) (PVC) is well-known. Used in conjunction with a primary plasticizer and a polymerization initiator, a plastisol coating for steel can be formulated which is oil or grease tolerant and can also be used for bonding some structural steel parts if the area is relatively large compared with the load to be applied. Defrayne and Twiss¹ describe the bonding of automobile hood assemblies by vinyl plastisol adhesives and Schneberger² emphasizes their use in the automobile industry though neither article gives the formulations employed. Commercial formulations giving pull-off strengths of the order of 1 to 4 MN. m^-2 always incorporate a proportion of a phenolformaldehyde resin or even an epoxy, but sound-deadening and other coatings of steel do not necessarily need this reinforcement. Phillips and Longworth³ particularly studied the use of diallylphthalate (DAP) as a polymerizable plasticizer and the consequent improvement in adhesion to mild steel. Sherlock⁴ used a simple formulation without additives when investigating the effect of surface cleaning and conversion coatings (oxides and phosphates). It was suggested that, as outlined below, improved adhesion would be expected if a small proportion of triallyl cyanurate (TAC) were added to the polymerizable plasticizer. This paper shows this expectation to be achieved although the proportion of the more expensive TAC needed for substantial increase in bond strength is greater than was hoped.     

Isomerization Dynamics of Dicyanine A in n-Alcoholic Solution

The radiationless relaxation of dicyanine A molecules in n-alcohols methanol to butanol has been studied by picosecond fluorescence spectroscopy and time-resolved nonlinear spectroscopy. The fluorescence decay rates have been measured as a function of viscosity, temperature, and fluorescence wavelength. It is shown that the wavelength dependence can be explained by coexistence of two ground-state conformers. The intrinsic activation barrier for the nonradiative decay from the excited surface is very small, much less than 1 kcal/mol. In a particular solvent the time constants of the nonradiative relaxation show a linear dependence on the variation of viscosity. The experimental data are discussed in relation to the BFO theory (Bagchi, B.; Fleming, G.R.; Oxtoby, D.W. J. Chem. Phys. 1983, 78: 7375).     

A two‐station embossing process for rapid fabrication of surface microstructures on thermoplastic polymers

An embossing strategy involving a hot station and a cold station for sequentially heating and cooling the embossing tool was investigated to reduce cycle times in hot embossing polymer microstructures. Experimental studies showed that aluminum stamps with a thickness of 1.4 mm can be rapidly heated from room temperature to 200°C in 3 s using contact heating against a hot station at 250°C. Microchannels and microlenses were successfully embossed onto high‐density polyethylene and acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene substrates using a heating time less than 3 s and a total cycle time around 10 s. The two‐station embossing process for the microlens was also numerically studied. The simulated filling behavior agreed with the experimental observation and the predicted thermal and deformation history of the polymer offered a good explanation on the experimentally observed process characteristics. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:530–539, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Factors influencing the photofading of commercial anthraquinone dyes in solution

The photofading of two anthraquinone dyes has been studied in aqueous solution using ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy and flash photolysis. The influence of alcohol concentration, pH, atmosphere, photosensitisers and stabilisers have been examined and these lead to some important conclusions on the mechanism of dye fading. Essentially, the results indicate the photoexcited triplet state of the dye undergoes a process of either electron or hydrogen-atom abstraction depending on the nature of the environment. Other factors such as aggregation and singlet oxygen also appear to play an important role in solution photofading. The relevance of these results to photofading in a polymeric phase is discussed.     

Surface mass transfer processes using peat as an adsorbent for dyestuffs

The factors affecting the initial rate of Telon Blue (Acid) dye adsorption onto peat have been investigated. The surface mass transfer coefficients for the rate of dye removal from solution have been determined and correlated as the dimensionless mass transfer term Sh/Sc^0.33. The function Sh/Sc^0.33 has been correlated with respect to four variables, namely, agitation, initial dye concentration, peat particle size range and the temperature of the dye solution. The mass transfer term varies with T^5.5, d_p^0.13, c_o^?1.1 and R.P.M.^0.26; consequently temperature has the most pronounced effect on the mass transfer coefficient.